Hurricanes 6, Devils 3

Hurricanes 6, Devils 3: Jiri Tlusty recorded two goals and an assist while Alexander Semin netted a tally and set up two others as host Carolina posted its fifth win in six games.

Jeff Skinner notched a goal and an assist, Chris Terry scored in his NHL debut and defenseman Jay Harrison added a tally for the Hurricanes, who have won both of their meetings with the Devils this season after losing six of the previous seven. Jordan and captain Eric Staal each had two assists while Dan Ellis made 31 saves.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored twice and Patrik Elias added a goal for New Jersey, which fell to 1-6-1 in its last eight contests. Jeff Frazee made his first NHL appearance and stopped all three shots he faced in relief of Johan Hedberg, who made 13 saves over the first two periods.

Carolina, which was 1-for-21 on the power play over its previous six games, cashed in on its first opportunity as Semin received a pass from defenseman Joe Corvo and slid a backhander around Hedberg from alone on the doorstep at 12:16 of the first period. Harrison made it 2-0 just 28 seconds later, but Kovalchuk scored on a short-handed breakaway two minutes afterward to halve the deficit.

Semin set up a streaking Tlusty with a cross-slot pass at 4:42 of the second to restore the Hurricanes' two-goal advantage, and Terry and Skinner scored in the latter half of the session for a 5-1 lead. Kovalchuk netted his second of the night 22 seconds into the third and Elias tallied 3:59 later, but Tlusty crushed New Jersey's comeback hopes and capped his fifth two-goal effort of the season with an empty-netter with 74 seconds remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Two of New Jersey's top six defensemen were not with the team due to injuries. Henrik Tallinder missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury, while captain Bryce Salvador remained home with an upper-body injury. ... Ellis made a rare appearance on the scoresheet, notching his fourth career assist on Tlusty's goal. ... Tlusty has scored all 13 of his goals over the last 15 games. He also tallied twice against the Devils in New Jersey on Feb. 12.